The End is never the End!

Only a month is over of the spring anime releases, soon it will be July and a summer anime season, filled with new anime stories to enjoy. In anime the end of a season is never the end, right? In the past few months, we have seen Uzumaki Boruto and Nara Shikadai (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) investigate a strange sentient aura that possesses people, and we are all looking forward to what Naruto’s son will find out and how the sentient aura storyline will pan out.

Sagrada Reset

In Tsugumomo we have seen some crazy battles like a ‘book mecha’ attacking our hero in the library and a weird type of arm wrestling between two women, while in Sagrada Reset we have seen an interesting viewpoint on purity by a girl with a freaky ability in Episode five. We hope that the summer anime will also have magical events like these. And we have not even mentioned all the adventures we saw in Berserk, Attack on Titan season 2 and all the other fine anime yet. Have you not seen all the spring anime yet? Just have a look at our guide to some of the anime that was released at the start of the season.

The Month That Was

Altair

Altair: A Record of Battles

On July 7, a new anime will air named Altair: A Record of Battles. The anime centres around a young Pasha called Mahmut who wants to keep the peace in a world on the very edge of war. Can he play the dark game of politics and still ensure peace for all?

The anime features animation from MAPPA (Yuri!!! on Ice) and is directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (Rurouni Kenshin TV). Noboru Takagi (Durarara!!) is handling the series composition, while Toshiyuki Kanno (Black Blood Brothers) is on character design; and Ryo Kawasaki (Luger Code 1951) is composing the music. The visual kei rock band SID will be performing their new song “Rasen no Yume” (Spiral Dream), which they exclusively wrote for the Altair: A Record of Battles anime.

Castlevania

Gamers, especially old school gamers, will remember the Konami game Castlevaniawhere you were playing the role of a vampire slayer that is part of the Belmont family of supernatural beastie hunters. Many anime fanatiks that played the games said that it would be perfect for an anime since the latter games in the series, especially, gave the player an anime feel with the anime inspired graphics.

It may not be an anime from Japan, but it seems that Netflix will, on July 7th make many Castlevania fanatics’ dreams come true. Yes, an animated series at last. Producer Adi Shankar personally guaranteed that it would be the western world’s first good video game adaptation.

This dark fantasy animated series will specifically be an adaptation based on Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989) and that means that the Belmont hero, Trevor will face Vlad Dracula Tepe, the dark lord of neck-biting himself! This series is from Frederator Studios and written by comic book legend Warren Ellis, who is producing the series with Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert and Adi Shankar.

Eureka Seven

The website for the Eureka Seven anime franchise announced that “Hi-Evolution 1,” the first part of the Upcoming Eureka Seven movie trilogy will be released in 107 movie theatres all across Japan on September 16, 2017. The main voice cast from the 50-episode anime series will reprise their roles for the movie. Renton and Eureka will again be the main characters in the movie trilogy!

Also returning to the Eureka Seven movies are Tomoki Kyoda who was the general director, Dai Sato (screenplay writer), Shoji Kawamori as the mechanical designer and Kenichi Yosida (character designer), who were all part of the staff members for the series.

The movies are following the First Summer of Love phenomenon that happened ten years before the events in the first Eureka Seven series. The movies will then have the same basic storyline of season one but will have an original ending. The trilogy promises that it will have redone footage, re-recorded lines and new scenes.

Gundam Build Fighters

Gundam Build Fighters

When the first Gundam Build Fighters in 2013 aired it was a fresh breeze into the Gundam Franchise because this one looked and felt like the ‘spiritual love child’ of the Gundam anime franchise and the Angelic Layer series. Like Angelic Layer, there was an arena where battles were fought. Where in Angelic Layer there were dolls, in Gundam Build Fighters, miniatures of Gundam Mecha called Gunpla were battling it out, controlled by a pilot. The series was so successful that a second series Gundam Build Fighters Try aired from 2014 – 2015.

If you love Gunpla then we have good news: two Gundam Build Fighters projects are on their way. The first project Gundam Build Fighters: GM’s Counterattack is to be directed by Kenji Nagasaki and the second project, a short film named Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue is to be directed by Masami Ōbari. Gundam Build Fighters: GM’s Counterattack will feature on Sei Iori and the original anime’s cast in a news story. Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue will be a short movie featuring various situations a Gunpla. The release date for both the new series and short movie will be announced at a later date.

Sanrio Boys

Sanrio Boys

A preview video for the upcoming anime Sanrio Danshi/Sanrio Boys were released from the anime’s official website. The preview announces the anime’s January 2018 premiere with the tagline “What’s wrong with being boys”. Two manga, as well as a birthday CD of Sanrio Boys, have been released already in Japan.

The project’s story goes as follows: Kōta really likes the yellow Pom Pom Purin dog and he ends up at a school where he meets Yū Mizuno, a boy that likes the My Melody Bunny. They together with other boys learn to accept the fact that boys can like cute characters.

Vatican Miracle Examiner

Vatican Miracle Examiner

Vatican Miracle Examiner’s official website announced that the anime will be pat of the summer anime release line-up and that is will premiere on July 7th. Based on the gothic mystery light novels series by Rin Fujiki entitled Vatican Kiseki Chosakan (Vatican Miracle Examiner) the anime will tell the story of two priests Josef, a scientist and Robert Nicholas who is an expert in ancient manuscripts as well as a cryptanalyst that investigate alleged miracles for the Seats of Saints of the Roman Catholic Church.

The anime’s cast includes Sōma Saitō, Masashi Ebara, Nobuhiko Okamoto and Junichi Suwabe. The anime staff includes Yoshitomo Yonetani (The King of Braves GaoGaiGar) in the director’s seat, Seishi Minakami (A Certain Scientific Railgun) on series composition and Kazunori Iwakura (Alice & Zouroku) on anime character design.

The anime’s opening song is entitled “MYSTERIUM” and is performed by SCREEN mode. Cast member Nobuhiko Okamaoto will perform the ending theme song. The anime will consist of 12 episodes and an OVA.

Interesting tidbits from the realms of Anime

Spread the word

Emergency words!

If you ever find yourself in Japan and an emergency pops up, it is always good to be equipped with a few handy words in Japanese. It is not to say that Japan is dangerous but our world is filled with random disasters and nasty thingies like earthquakes, car accidents, and tsunamis. When in another country a few words in the language of the locals can go a long way.

Toire
Toire means toilet, and when Mother Nature calls just knowing the word ‘toire’ can get you where you need to go. The word sounds like the word ‘toilet’ so it is an easy word to remember.

Tearai
Tearai means bathroom. If you feel too embarrassed to use the word ‘toire’ (toilet), this word can be helpful to get you to the room you intend to go

TasuketeTasukete means help and yelling this word out may send a shining knight or daring damsel to your aide.

WakarimasenWakarimasen means “I don’t understand’. A useful word if a Japanese person uses words in Japanese you have not learned yet. And if you tell them ‘Eigo’, which means English they will understand that you are better at understanding English. They may just happen to know someone that knows English better than they do.

FukuFuku means clothes. Maybe you are at an Onsen (hot spring) and misplaced your clothes. By yelling ‘fuku!’ people may help you to find your clothes.

Yamete!Yamete means ‘stop it!’ If anyone is messing with you or you happen to be in a position where this phrase is needed, it is good to have this word in your verbal arsenal. It is the most common way to say stop in Japanese.

KeisatsuKeisatsu means police. And sometimes they are the best solution to a problem.

Abunai and KikenAbunai means dangerous. If someone yells that it means that you may be heading into danger. Kiken means peril or hazard. Could be very useful to keep you from walking into a hornet’s nest or something equally scary.

Yakitori

Traditional Recipe of the month

If you look at Yakitori you may mistake it for Chicken kebab but it’s secret is in its name because it is a Japanese skewered chicken dish. Yakitori translated to English means grilled chicken and thus if someone serves you Beef Yakitori consisting of only beef and no chicken chances are they know nothing of Japanese cuisine (Except if they are a little weird and have chicken and beef on one skewer). Yakitori is a dish popular at festivals like Golden Week or as a light meal. It can be perfect for barbeques as well.

Your star ingredient is, of course, the chicken, but other ingredients such as scallion can accompany it. The second important item that is needed for the dish is the skewer, which is traditionally called a Kushi, a specially made skewer made from bamboo or steel or even other materials. In chef Hiroyuki Terada’s video, he deftly show us how to de-bone chicken legs, teach us a little Japanese and prepared super yummy yakitori. Enjoy the succulent video

For kitchen ninja that want to learn more ways to make Yakitori, the YouTube channel Yummy Japan has a nice video on ‘how to eat Yakitori’. It shows how to eat chicken liver, chicken hearts and necks in a Yakitori way! Enjoy!

Rurouni Kenshin

Upcoming Birthday of the Month

Celebrating Himura Kenshin’s birthday on the 20th of June we honour where this noble warrior came from. And Kenshin certainly came a long way, didn’t it? It started as a manga from 1994 to 1999, then the Rurouni Kenshin anime series from 1996 – 1998, the anime films that followed as well as the first of three live-action movies in 2012. Himura Kenshin, the main character, certainly is one of the most ‘flesh’-ed out characters in anime and those of us that followed him for years feel like part of the story. But who is Himura Kenshin really?

Those familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin anime knows that Himura Kenshin is known as the legendary hitokiri of the Meiji Revolution. His original name was Shinta. He was known as Himura the Battōsai. He is a samurai, who wandered Japan, seeking redemption carrying a sakabatō (reverse bladed sword) and living by the vow to never kill again (due to his past as an assassin in the Tokugawa war). In the anime, he arrives in Tokyo and takes up residence at the Kamiya dojo, where his vow is tested time and again as he fights for peace in Japan.

In the anime, he is usually seen as a carefree swordsman and seems to be simpleminded (which hardened fanatiks know he is not). He does chores around the Kamiya dojo (like cooking, cleaning, laundry because he sees it as a way to repay Kaoru for allowing him to stay at her family dojo.

Anime Music of the month

Love anime soundtracks? If you do you should visit AmaLee’s YouTube page where she is also known as “LeeandLie”. She is a dedicated artist that creates English covers and adaptations of anime as well as video game songs. She is over 930,000 subscribers strong, just to give you an idea how popular she is. She is also a voice actress and provided her voice to anime such as Gosick, Show by Rock!! Season 2 and games such as Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2.

This month’s anime song we feature is her version of the Neon Genesis Evangelion opening, Cruel Angel’s Thesis. The song will give Evangelion Fanatiks Goosebumps! Other covers we can recommend are her English versions of her Acoustic cover of Sword Art Online’sCrossing Field and her Attack on Titan Medley.

Anime Challenge

Every month we have an anime challenge. We post the challenge in weekly instalments on our Facebook Page. The challenges give us either a change to revisit some great anime or to get to know great anime we have not watched before. April’s challenge was Death Note and May we did Boku No Hero Academia, For June, our challenge will be Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou (also known as Attack on Titan: Junior High). To find out more about our anime challenges, have a look at our Facebook Page!